learned from their actions, but these being confined to his administration in that kingdom, his character may perhaps take in something more, which the narrowness of the time or the scene has not given him opportunity to exert.

Thomas earl of Wharton, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, by the force of a wonderful constitution has some years passed his grand climacteric without any visible effects of old age either on his body or his mind, and in spite of a continual prostitution to those vices which usually wear out both. His behaviour is in all the forms of a young man at fiveand-twenty. Whether he walks, or whistles, or swears, or talks bawdy, or calls names, he acquits himself in each beyond a templar of three years' standing. With the same grace, and in the same style, he will rattle his coachman in the midst of the street, where he is governor of the kingdom; and all this is without consequence, because it is in his character and what everybody expects. He seems to be but an ill dissembler and an ill liar, although they are the two talents he most practises and most values himself upon. The ends he has gained by lying appear to be more owing to the frequency than the art of them: his lies being sometimes detected in an hour, often in a day, and always in a week. He tells them freely in mixed companies, although he knows half of those that hear him to be his enemies, and is sure they will discover them the moment they leave him. He swears solemnly he loves and will serve you; and your back is no sooner turned but he tells those about him you are a dog and a rascal. He goes constantly to prayers in the forms of his place, and will talk bawdy and blasphemy at the chapel door. He is a presbyterian in politics, and an atheist in religion; but he chooses at present to whore with a papist. In his commerce with mankind, his general rule is to endeavour to impose on their understandings, for which he has but one receipt-a composition of lies and oaths: and this he applies indifferently to a freeholder of forty shillings, and a privy-councillor; by which the easy and the honest are often either deceived or amused, and either way he gains his point. He will openly take away your employment to-day, because you are not of his party; to-morrow he will meet or send for you, as if nothing at all had passed, lay his hands with much friendliness on your shoulders, and, with the greatest ease and familiarity, tell you that the faction are driving at something in the house; that you must be sure to attend, and to speak to all your friends to be there, although he knows at the same time that you and your friends are against him in the very point he mentions: and however absurd, ridiculous, and gross this may appear, he has often found it successful; some men having such an awkward bashfulness, they know not how to refuse on a sudden; and every man having something to fear, which often hinders them from driving things to extremes with persons of power, whatever provocations they may have received. He has sunk his fortune by endeavouring to ruin one kingdom [England], and has raised it by going far in the ruin of another [Ireland]. With a good natural understanding, a great fluency in speaking, and no ill taste of wit, he is generally the worst companion in the world; his thoughts being wholly taken up between vice and politics, so that bawdy, profaneness, and business, fill up his whole conversation. To gratify himself in the two first he makes use of suitable favourites, whose talents reach no higher than to entertain him with all the lewdness that passes in town. As for business, he is said to be very dexterous at that part of it which turns upon intrigue;

and he seems to have transferred those talents of hie youth for intriguing with women into public affairs For, as some vain young fellows, to make a gallantry appear of consequence, will choose to venture their necks by climbing up a wall or window at mid night to a common wench, where they might as freely have gone in at the door, and at noonday; so his excellency, either to keep himself in practice or advance the fame of his politics, affects the most obscure, troublesome, and winding paths, even in the most common affairs, those which would be brought about as well in the ordinary forms, o would follow of course whether he intervened or not.

He bears the gallantries of his lady with the indifference of a Stoic; and thinks them well recompensed by a return of children to support his family without the fatigues of being a father.

He has three predominant passions which you will seldom find united in the same man, as arising from different dispositions of mind, and naturally thwarting each other: these are, love of power, love of money, and love of pleasure; they ride him sometimes by turns, sometimes all together. Since he went into Ireland he seems most disposed to the second, and has met with great success; having gained by his government, of under two years, fiveand-forty thousand pounds by the most favourable computation, half in the regular way and half in the prudential.

He was never yet known to refuse or keep a promise, as I remember he told a lady, but with an exception to the promise he then made (which was to get her a pension); yet he broke even that, and, I confess, deceived us both. But here I desire to distinguish between a promise and a bargain; for he wil! be sure to keep the latter when he has the fairest offer.

Thus much for his excellency's character: I shall now proceed to his actions, only during the time he was governor of Ireland, which were transmitted to me by an eminent person in business there, who had all opportunities of being well informed, and whose employment did not lie at his excellency's

mercy.

This intelligence being made up of several facts independent of each other, I shall hardly be able to relate them in due order of time, my correspondent omitting that circumstance, and transmitting them to me as they came into his memory; so that the gentlemen of that kingdom now in town, I hope, will pardon me any slips I shall make in that or any other kind, while I keep exactly to the truth.

Thomas Proby, esq., chirurgeon-general of Ireland, a person universally esteemed, and whom I have formerly seen here, had built a country-house half a mile from Dublin, adjoining to the park In a corner of the park, just under his house, he was much annoyed with a dog-kennel, which belonged to the government; upon which he applied to Thomas earl of Pembroke, then lord-lieutenant, and to the commissioners of the revenue, for a lease of about five acres of that part of the park. His petition was referred to the lord-treasurer here, and sent back for a report, which was in his favour, and the bargain so hard that the lord-treasurer struck off some part of the rent. He had a lease granted him, for which he was to build another kennel, provide ice yearly for the government, and pay a certain rent: the land might be worth about thirty shillings an acre. His excellency, soon after his arrival in Ireland, was told of this lease, and by his absolute authority commanded Mr. Proby to surrender up the land, which he was forced to do, after all the

expense he had been at, or else must have expected to lose his employment; at the same time he is under an obligation to pay his rent, and I think he does it to this day. There are several circumstances in this story which I have forgot, having not been sent to me with the rest; but I had it from a gentleman of that kingdom, who some time ago was here.

Upon his excellency's being declared lord-lieutenant, there came over, to make his court, one Dr. Lloyd, fellow of Trinity-college, Dublin, noted in that kingdom for being the only clergyman that declared for taking off the sacramental test, as he did openly in their convocation, of which he was a member. The merit of this, and some other principles suitable to it recommended by Tom Broderick, so far ingratiated him with his excellency, that, being provided of a proper chaplain already, he took him, however, into a great degree of favour: the doctor attended his excellency to Ireland; and observing a cast wench in the family to be in much confidence with my lady, he thought, by addressing there, to have a short open passage to preferment. He met with great success in his amour; and walking one day with his mistress after my lord and lady in the castle garden, my lady said to his excellency, "What do you think? we are going to lose poor Foydy," a name of fondness they usually gave her. "How do you mean?" said my lord. "Why the doctor behind us is resolved to take her from us.""Is he by G-? Why then (G―d d―mn me!) he shall have the first bishopric that falls."a

The doctor, thus encouraged, grew a most violent lover, returned with his excellency for England, and soon after, the bishopric of Cork falling void, to show he meant fair, he married his damsel publicly here in London, and his excellency as honourably engaged his credit to get him the bishopric; but the matter was reckoned so infamous that both the archbishops here, especially his grace of York, interposed with the queen to hinder so great a scandal to the church; and Dr. Brown, provost of Dublin-college, being then in town, her majesty was pleased to nominate him; so that Dr. Lloyd was forced to sit down with a moderate deanery in the northern parts of that kingdom, and the additional comfort of a sweet lady, who brought this her first husband no other portion than a couple of olive-branches for his table, though she herself hardly knows by what hand they were planted.

The queen reserves all the great employments of Ireland to be given by herself, though often by the recommendation of the chief governor, according to his credit at court. The provostship of Dublin college is of this number, which was now vacant, upon the promotion of Dr. Brown. Dr. Benjamin Pratt, a fellow of that college, and chaplain to the house of commons of that kingdom, as well as domestic chaplain to the duke of Ormond, was at that time here, in attendance upon the duke. He is a gentleman of good birth and fortune in Ireland, and lived here in a very decent figure: he is a person of wit and learning, has travelled and conversed in the best company, and was very much esteemed among us here when I had the pleasure of his acquaintance; but he had the original sin of being a reputed Tory, and a dependant on the duke of Ormond; however, he had many friends among the bishops and other nobility to recommend him to the queen. At the same time there was another fellow of that college, one Dr. Hall, who had the advantage of Pratt in

• It was confidently reported, as a conceit of his excellency, that, talking upon this subject, he once said, with great pleasure, that he hoped to make his mistress a bishop.

VOL. I

point of seniority. This gentleman had very little introduced himself into the world, but lived retired, though otherwise said to be an excellent person, and very deserving for his learning and sense. He had been recommended from Ireland by several persons; and his excellency, who had never before seen nor thought of him, after having tried to injure the college by recommending persons from this side, at last set up Hall, with all imaginable zeal, against Pratt. I tell this story the more circumstantially because it is affirmed by his excellency's friends that he never made more use of his court skill than at this time, to hinder Dr. Pratt from the provostship; not only from the personal hatred he had to the man on account of his patron and principles, but that he might return to Ireland with some little opinion of his credit at court, which had mightily suffered by many disappointments, especially the last, of his chaplain Dr. Lloyd. It would be incredible to relate the many artifices he used to this end, of which the doctor had daily intelligence, and would fairly tell his excellency so at his levees; who sometimes could not conceal his surprise, and then would promise, with half a dozen oaths, never to concern himself one way or other: these were broke every day, and every day detected. One morning, after some expostulation between the doctor and his excellency, and a few additional oaths that he would never oppose him more, his excellency went immediately to the bishop of Ely, and prevailed on him to go to the queen from him, and let her majesty know that he never could consent, as long as he lived, that Dr. Pratt should be provost; which the bishop barely complied with, and delivered his message, though at the same time he did the doctor all the good offices he could. The next day the doctor was again with his excellency, and gave him thanks for so open a proceeding: the affair was now past dissembling, and his excellency owned he did not oppose him directly, but confessed he did it collaterally. The doctor, a little warmed, said, "No, my lord, you mean directly you did not, but indirectly you did." The conclusion was, that the queen named the doctor to the place; and, as a further mortification, just upon the day of his excellency's departure for Ireland.

But here I must desire the reader's pardon if I cannot digest the following facts in so good a manner as I intended; because it is thought expedient, for some reasons, that the world should be informed of his excellency's merits as soon as possible. I will therefore only transcribe the several passages as they were sent me from Dublin, without either correcting the style or adding any remarks of my own. they are, they may serve for hints to any person who may hereafter have a mind to write memoirs of his excellency's life.

As

A RELATION OF SEVERAL FACTS, EXACTLY AS THEY WERE TRANSMITTED TO ME FROM IRELAND ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO, AND AT SEVERAL TIMES, FROM A PERSON OF QUALITY, AND IN EMPLOYMENT THERE.

THE earl of Rochfort's regiment of dragoons was embarked for her majesty's service abroad, on the 27th of August, 1709, and left their horses behind them, which were subsisted in order to mount another regiment to fill up their room; as the horses of lieutenant-general Harvey's regiment had formerly mounted a regiment raised, and still commanded, by the duke of Ormond; on which occasion the duke had her majesty's order only for as much money as would supply the charge of the horses till the regiment was raised, which was soon after, and 2 A

(being about two hundred pounds per annum), but never found any fault in the commissioners, who adjudged the case for him, and might have refused him the money if they had thought fit.

Captain Robert Fitzgerald, father to the present earl of Kildare, had a grant from king Charles the Second of the office of comptroller of the musters, during the lives of captain Chambre Brabazon, now earl of Meath, and George Fitzgerald, elder brother to the present earl of Kildare; which the said Robert Fitzgerald enjoyed with a salary of three hundred pounds per annum ; and after his death his son George enjoyed it, till my lord Galway did, by threats, compel him to surrender the said patent for a pension of two hundred pounds per annum, which he enjoyed during his life. Some time ago the present earl of Kildare, as heir to his father and brother, looked upon himself to be injured by the surrender of the said patent, which should have come to him, the earl of Meath being still living; therefore, in order to right himself, did petition her majesty; which petition, as usual, was referred to the earl of Wharton, then lord-lieutenant, who, being at that time in London, referred it, according to the common method on such occasions, to the lord chancellor and lieutenant-general Ingoldsby, the then lordsjustices of this kingdom: who for their information ordered the attorney-general to inquire whether the earl of Kildare had any legal title to the said patent, which he, in a full report, said he had: and they referred it to the deputy vice-treasurer to inquire into the nature of the office, and to give them his opinion whether he thought it was useful or necessary for her majesty's service. He gave in his report, and said he thought it both useful and necessary, and, with more honesty than wit, gave the following reasons: first, that the muster-mastergeneral computed the pay of the whole military list, which is above 200,000l. per annum; so, having no check on him, might commit mistakes, to the great prejudice of the crown: and, secondly, because he had himself found out several of those mistakes, which a comptroller might prevent. The lords-justices approved of these reasons, and so sent over their report to my lord-lieutenant, that they thought the office useful and necessary: but colonel Pthe muster-master-general, being then in London, and having given my lord-lieutenant one thousand pounds for his consent to enjoy that office, after he had got her majesty's orders for a patent, thought a check upon his office would be a troublesome spy upon him; so he pleaded the merit of his thousand pounds, and desired, in consideration thereof, that his excellency would free him from an office that would put it out of his power to wrong the crown; and, to strengthen his pretensions, put my lady in mind of what money he had lost to her at play; who immediately, out of a grateful sense of benefits received, railed as much against the lords-justices' report as ever she had done against the Tories; and my lord-lieutenant, prompted by the same virtue, made his report that there needed no comptroller to that office, because he controlled it himself; which (now having given his word for it) he will, beyond all doubt, effectually do for the future; although since it has been plainly made appear that, for want of some control on that office, her majesty has been wronged of many hundred pounds by the roguery of a clerk, and that during the time of his excellency's government; of which there has been but a small part refunded, and the rest has not been inquired after, lest it should make it plainly appear that a comptroller in that office is absolutely necessary.

-r,

His excellency being desirous, for a private reason,

to provide for the worthless son of a worthless father, who had lately sold his company, and of course all pretension to preferment in the army, took this opportunity: a captain in the oldest regiment in the kingdom, being worn out with service, desired leave to sell, which was granted him; and, accordingly, for a consideration agreed upon, he gave a resignation of his company to a person approved of by the commander of the regiment, who at the same time applied to his excellency for leave for another captain of his regiment, who is an engineer in her majesty's service in Spain, and absent by her majesty's licence: his excellency, hearing that, said they might give him a company in Spain, for he would dispose of his here; and so, notwithstanding all the commanders of the regiment could urge, he gave the company, which was regularly surrendered, to his worthy favourite; and the other company, which was a disputable title, to the gentleman who had paid his money for that which was surrendered.

Talking one morning, as he was dressing (at least a dozen people present), of the debates in council about the affair of Trim, he said the lord chief-justice Dolbena had laid down as law a thing for which a man ought to have his gown stripped off and be whipped at the cart's a-e; and in less than a quarter of an hour repeated the expression again: yet, some days after, sent Dr. Lambert [his principal chaplain] to assure his lordship he said no such thing. Some time after, while he was in England, he used his utmost efforts with the queen to turn him out, but could not so when he came once again he took an opportunity (when the judges were to wait on him) to say to them, particularly to lord chief-justice Dolben, that perhaps some officious persons would spread stories that he had endeavoured to do some of them a prejudice in England, which he assured them he never had; but, on the contrary, would always without distinction show his regard according to merit; which the lord chief-justice Broderick was pleased to approve of, by saying, “that was very honourable, that was very gracious;" though he knew the contrary himself.

In England he bid Mr. Deering assure all his friends and acquaintance here that they, and everybody without distinction, might depend upon his favour as they behaved themselves; with which Mr. Deering was much pleased, and wrote over to his friends accordingly; and as soon as his back was turned, he jeeringly said, "D-n me, how easily he is bit!"

When the duke of Ormond was in the government, he gave to Mr. Anderson Saunders the government of Wicklow castle, which has no salary, but a perquisite of some land worth about 127. per annum, which Mr. Saunders gave to the free-school of the town; but his excellency, not liking either the person or the use, without any ceremonies or reason given superseded him, by giving a commission for it to Jennings the horse-courser, who lies under several odious and scandalous reflections, particularly of very narrowly escaping the gallows for coining.

Some time after his excellency's landing the second time, he sent for Mr. Saunders among others, desiring their good offices in the ensuing session, and that Mr. Saunders would not take amiss his giving that place to Jennings, for he assured him he did not know it belonged to him; which is highly probable, because men of his knowledge usually give away things without inquiring how they are in their disposal. Mr. Saunders answered, "He was very glad to find what was done was not out of any particular displeasure to him; because Mr. Whitshed had said at * Lord chief-justice of the common pleas, 1714-1720.

356

Wicklow (by way of apology for what his excellency had done) that it was occasioned by Mr. Saunders's having it; and seeing his excellency had no ill intention against him, was glad he could tell his excellency it was not legally given away (for he had a custodiam for the land out of the court of exchequer); so his excellency's commission to Jennings could do him no prejudice."

Lieutenant-general Echlin had pay on this establishment as brigadier till the middle of October, 1708, when he was removed from it by his excellency, because his regiment went away at that time, and lieutenant-general Gorges was put in his room. Some time after major-general Rooke, considering the reason why Echlin was removed, concluded that Gorges could not come on till some time in February after, because his regiment also was out of the kingdom till that time; and that therefore he, being the eldest general officer that had no pay as such, was entitled to the brigadier's pay from the time Echlin was removed till Gorges was qualified to receive it, he having done the duty. His excellency, upon hearing the reason, owned it to be a very good one, and told him, if the money were not paid to Gorges, he should have it, so bid him go see; which he did, and found it was; then his excellency told him he would refer his case to a court of general officers to give their opinion in it, which he said must needs be in his favour, and upon that ground he would find a way to do him right; yet, when the general officers sat, he sent for several of them, and made them give the case against Rooke.

When the prosecution against the dissenting minister at Drogheda was depending, one Stevens, a lawyer in this town (Dublin), sent his excellency, then in London, a petition, in the name of the said dissenting minister, in behalf of himself and others, who lay under any such prosecution; and in about a fortnight's time his excellency sent over a letter to the then lords-justices, to give the attorney and solicitor-general orders to enter a noli prosequi to all such suits; which was done accordingly, though he never so much as inquired into the merits of the cause, or referred the petition to anybody, which is a justice done to all men, let the case be ever so light. He said he had her majesty's orders for it; but they did not appear under her hand, and it is generally affirmed he never had any.

That his excellency can descend to small gains take this instance: there were 8501. ordered by her majesty to buy new liveries for the state trumpets, messengers, &c. ; but with great industry he got them made cheaper by 2007., which he saved out of that sum; and it is reported that his steward got a handsome consideration besides from the undertaker.

The agent to his regiment, being so also to others, bought a lieutenant's commission in a regiment of foot, for which he never was to do any duty; which service pleased his excellency so well, that he gave him leave to buy a company, and would have had him keep both; but before his pleasure was known the former was disposed of.

The lord-lieutenant has no power to remove or put in a solicitor-general without the queen's letter, it being one of those employments excepted out of his commission; yet, because sir Richard Levinge disobliged him by voting according to his opinion, he removed him, and put in Mr. Forster, although he had no queen's letter for so doing; only a letter from Mr. secretary Boyle that her majesty designed to remove him.

The privy-council in Ireland have a great share of Recorder of the city of Dublin, and lord chief-justice of the common pleas.

the administration; all things being carried by the consent of the majority, and they sign all orders and proclamations there, as well as the chief governor. But his excellency disliked so great a share of power in any but himself; and when matters were debated in council otherwise than he approved, he would stop them, and say, "Come, my lords, I see how your opinions are, and therefore I will not take your votes ;" and so would put an end to the dispute.

One of his chief favourites was a scandalous clergyman, a constant companion of his pleasures, who appeared publicly with his excellency, but never in his habit, and who was a hearer and sharer of all the lewd and blasphemous discourses of his excellency and his cabal. His excellency presented this worthy divine to one of the bishops, with the following recommendation: "My lord, Mr. — is a very honest fellow, and has no fault, but that he is a little too immoral.” He made this man chaplain to his regiment, though he had been so infamous, that a bishop in England refused to admit him to a living he had been presented to, till the patron forced him to it by law.

His excellency recommended the earl of Inchiquin to be one of the lords-justices in his absence, and was much mortified when he found lieutenantgeneral Ingoldsby appointed without any regard to his recommendation; particularly because the usual salary of a lord-justice, in the lord-lieutenant's absence, is 1007. per month, and he had bargained with the earl for 40%.

I will send you in a packet or two some particulars of his excellency's usage of the convocation; of his infamous intrigues with Mrs. Coningsby; an account of his arbitrary proceedings about the election of a magistrate in Trim; his selling the place of a privy-councillor and commissioner of the revenue to Mr. Conolly; his barbarous injustice to dean Jephson and poor Will Crow; his deciding a case at hazard to get my lady twenty guineas, but in so scandalous and unfair a manner, that the arrantest sharper would be ashamed of; the common custom of playing on Sunday in my lady's closet; the partie quarrée between her ladyship and Mrs. Fl-d, and two young fellows dining privately and frequently at Clontarf, where they used to go in a hackney coach; and his excellency's making no scruple of dining in a hedge tavern whenever he was invited; with some other passages which I hope you will put into some method, and correct the style, and publish as speedily

as you can.

Note: Mr. Savage, beside the prosecution about his fees, was turned out of the council for giving his vote in parliament, in a case where his excellency's own friends were of the same opinion, till they were wheedled or threatened out of it by his excellency.

The particulars before mentioned I have not yet received. Whenever they come, I shall publish them in a Second Part.

SOME REMARKS UPON A PAMPHLET, ENTITLED, A LETTER TO THE SEVEN LORDS OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO EXAMINE GREGG. THE Examiner has been down this month, and was very silly the five or six last papers; but there is a pamphlet come out in answer to a letter to the seven lords who examined Gregg. The answer is by the real author of the Examiner, as I believe, for it is very well written.-Journal to Stella, Aug 24, 1711.

a The committee consisted of the dukes of Devonshire, Somerset, and Bolton; the earl of Wharton; lord viscount Townshend; lord Somers, and lord Halifax. Gregg was tried at the Old Bailey, Jan. 19, 1707 8, and condemned for high treason; but was not executed till April 28, 1708.